Legendarium

Are you sure?

Maybe you are a member of a party, or just interested in politics; you are a right-winger, but sometimes it is still a bit strange, or you take more to the left, but still doubt some things? I never liked party politics, for parties restrict too much free thinking, they all represent only a small slice from life’s huge cake? And with parties comes party-line voting as well. Is it really possible to agree in everything with a dozen, a hundred, a thousand other people? It is impossible. Those, who think it possible, just beguile themselves.

Intelligent, learned and wise people have their opinions, based on much thought, worked out to their satisfaction, and if sometimes they do agree with others, then sometimes they don’t. And it is this way that I see fit. A party asks too much from its member when asking always to vote along its lines; even when it attempts to convince them of its truths. In my opinion, high level political life is only possible if people dare to say their own opinions – and take the responsibility for them. For party-line voting does take it from the members’ shoulders, true… but then a person who likes it, why is taking part in politics at all, if not to represent his or her own ideas? Why does it satisfy some to go after a party, like sheep after the cock of the school?

In my interpretation parties are signal-systems, that show the overall political values of its members. In this system people form a loose circle because they share some ideas, but the dare to differ in others. It is not a problem for them to disagree or even to change party, for if party discipline becomes too stifling, then it is time to go, for people and ideas grow better in freer circumstances. Older parties are more susceptible for this strong, enforced discipline, because they have a more rigid structure. That is why new or renewing parties are the engine of any political system.

And one more thing… I have often observed that people use phrases that they are not always very sure of; it is quite true in political concepts, like left-right, authoritarian-anarchist, liberal or libertarian, and so on. I have for some time known a page which measures political standing and I can safely suggest to fill it in, for it is edifying. It is called www.politicalcompass.org and it is a test in English, and the end results are given in an frame of reference by economical left-right and social libertarian authoritarian. It is slightly goes to the left, as we noticed, so take that into account.

I am curious, who would take this test and who would write the result here.

Mine goes like this: Economic Left/Right: -5.0; Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.59
Together with my intelligence it is not surprising that few parties can contain me really.